Area 1. A large market exists in places like/near Preston for thermal-sourced electricity and space heating. Structurally and provided with naturally-fractured sequences, the geology of Ribblesdale Fold Belt looks favourable for geothermal developments in fractured Lower Carboniferous limestones: permeability is good throughout those sequences. This seismic profile shows the broad structure style: E87C-04 crosses the Slaidburn and Clitheroe Anticlines, Pendle Monocline and Pendle Hill are at right.
The orange line at 1.4 seconds is roughly the 3000 metres burial indicator for this basin, much of the Carboniferous is above it. But, in mid and south end of the line we see sediments below that depth, in the RFB and on the Pendle Ramp we know hot water can transfer into the fold belt structures like Clitheroe and Gisburn Anticlines, and reach ground surface via lateral, sidewall ramps. It is the case that 40-50 warm water springs are active east of Clitheroe, and they contain H2S which can only have come from basal Carboniferous. Slaidburn and Clitheroe/Gisburn folds will support proppant-injected acidised wells in fractured limestones of the Ballagan-equivalent formations. In the case of Slaidburn, at around 1.2-1.25 seconds (say 2750-3000 metres), brittle fractured dolomites are fractured targets for geothermal producer wells. Injectors can be much shallower.